Poll: Thumbs down on Vladimir Putin, Russia

With all eyes on Sochi for the Winter Olympics, Americans hold the lowest view of Russia and its president that they’ve had in two decades, according to a new poll.

Sixty percent of Americans view Russia unfavorably, the most since 1994, according to Gallup’s poll out Thursday. Their favorable view of Russia nearly ties the low set in 1999 during the bombing in Chechnya and conflict in Kosovo: Today, just 34 percent of Americans view Russia favorably, near the 33 percent set in 1999.

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PHOTOS: Politics of the Olympics

Russian President Vladimir Putin also registered his lowest marks since first becoming president in 1999, per Gallup’s polling. Americans view Putin unfavorably 63 percent to 19 percent, continuing a trend that has grown since Gallup began polling on the Russian leader.

The low view of Russia follows a fall poll from Gallup that found Americans consider Russia an enemy rather than ally for the first time in 14 years, the culmination of a souring relationship between the two nations that has involved Russia harboring National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, opposite positions on Iran and Syria, anti-gay laws that worried Americans about crackdowns during the Olympics and a publicly frosty relationship between President Barack Obama and Putin.

Americans have also popularized the hashtag #SochiProblems on Twitter to document perceived mistakes made managing the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Gallup surveyed 1,018 adults from Feb. 6 to 9 for the poll, which has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.